Composting by households in Canada - Statistics Canada

Catalogue no. 16‑002‑X ISSN 1913-4320

A r t icl e EnviroStats

Composting by households in Canada by Iman Mustapha Environment Accounts and Statistics Division July 2013

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Composting by households in Canada by Iman Mustapha, Environment Accounts and Statistics Division

Composting behaviours by Canadian households have increased over the years. Some municipalities have introduced composting programs to increase participation and reduce the amount of waste shipped to landfills. • In 2011, over half of Canadian households (61%) had participated in some form of composting; this is up 38 percentage points from 1994. Forty-five percent of all households reported composting kitchen waste and 68% of households with a lawn or garden reported composting yard waste. • In 2011, 63% of Canadian households that had composted their yard waste and 60% that composted their kitchen waste used a curbside collection system. The rest used a compost bin or pile or some other method to compost. • The type of dwelling a household occupied was directly related to the rate of composting. Over 50% of households in detached or single dwellings reported composting their kitchen waste, compared to 22% of households living in apartments. This reflects the fact that many apartment dwellers can find it difficult to compost.

In 2008, Canadian households produced 12.9 million tonnes of waste. Of this total, 8.5 million tonnes were sent to public and private waste disposal facilities while 4.4 million tonnes were sent for recycling or composting through waste diversion programs. Residential waste disposal decreased by 4.0% from 2006 to 2008, reflecting in part the impact of these diversion programs introduced by municipalities.1

Composting rates for Canada, provinces and various census metropolitan areas in 2011

Residential composting can reduce the amount of waste shipped to landfill, and reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions formed from organic material decomposing in these landfills. A number of municipalities have introduced composting programs to turn organic waste into compost. Some municipal programs include set curbside collection schedules allowing households convenient access to the program to encourage participation (Table 1).

Households in Prince Edward Island (96%) and Nova Scotia (94%) were most likely to have composted. These rates reflect the presence of strict waste management regulations in both provinces.2 Households were least likely to compost in Quebec (42%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (43%).

Statistics Canada — July 2013

In 2011, over half of Canadian households (61%) had participated in some form of composting. Forty-five percent of all households reported composting kitchen waste and 68% of households with a lawn or garden reported composting yard waste (Table 2).

Participation in some type of composting activity varied widely between census metropolitan areas (CMAs). Nevertheless, composting was widely practiced. With the exception of six CMAs, more than half of the households in the remaining CMAs reported composting in 2011.

EnviroStats / 1

Composting by households in Canada

What you should know about this study This study is based on data from the 2011 Households and the Environment Survey (HES), which was conducted as part of the Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators initiative. Respondents were asked to report if they had participated in any type of composting and the methods that were used to compost either kitchen or yard waste. Census metropolitan areas (CMAs) consist of one or more municipalities situated around a major urban core. A CMA must have a total population of at least 100,000 of which 50,000 or more live in the urban core. (See: Statistics Canada, 2007, 2006 Census Dictionary, Catalogue no. 92-566-X for more information). Not all CMAs are represented in the analysis of all variables in this study as some results were suppressed for data quality reasons. There were various criteria for reporting results of a given CMA, including that the statistics had to have a coefficient of variation (CV) no higher than 33.3 and at least 20 records had to have contributed to the result. Values noted as F in the data tables indicate cases where fewer than 20 records contributed to a result, and that the value was deemed “too unreliable to be published,” regardless of the CV. Values that had a CV between 16.5 and 33.3 (and at least 20 records contributing) are to be used with caution, which is indicated with an E in the data table.

Table 1 Selected municipal composting programs Ottawa Moncton Hamilton Edmonton Vancouver

Composting program Green Bin Program Wet/Dry Waste Separation Program Green Cart Program Edmonton Waste Management Centre Food Scraps Recycling Program

Introduced 2010 1999 2006 2000 2010

Collection Weekly Weekly Weekly Weekly Bi-weekly or weekly

Source: City of Ottawa, 2013, Green bin pickup to begin on schedule, http://app06.ottawa.ca/cgi-bin/pressco.pl?&Elist=15742&lang=en (accessed March 27, 2013). City of Ottawa, 2013, Green bin collection goes weekly, http://app06.ottawa.ca/cgi-bin/pressco.pl?&Elist=17570&lang=en (accessed March 27, 2013). City of Moncton, 2013, Wet/Dry Waste Separation, www.moncton.ca/Residents/Garbage_and_Recycling/Wet_and_Dry_Waste_Separation.htm (accessed March 27, 2013). City of Hamilton, 2013, Green Carts are here, www.hamilton.ca/NewsandPublications/NewsReleases/2006News/April/0604-03ph.htm (accessed March 27, 2013). City of Edmonton, 2013, Edmonton Composting Facility, www.edmonton.ca/for_residents/garbage_recycling/ edmonton-composting-facility.aspx (accessed March 27, 2013). City of Vancouver, 2013, Food scraps recycling program, http://vancouver.ca/greenvancouver/food-scraps-program.aspx (accessed March 27, 2013).

Chart 1 Composting, Canada and provinces, 1994 and 2011

Ninety-three percent of households in Halifax reported composting either kitchen and/or yard waste. This was followed by households in Guelph (87%), Saint John (83%) and Kingston (83%). The two CMAs with households least likely to compost were both in the province of Quebec, with 30% of households in Saguenay reporting they composted, followed by Trois‑Rivières (33%).

percent 100

96

90

1994 2011

94

80

75

70

61

60 50

20 10 0

56

43

40 30

64

58

56 47

42

38 30

23

17

19

9 Canada N.L.

18

16

22

21

Sask.

Alta.

8 P.E.I.

N.S.

N.B.

Que.

Ont.

Man.

B.C.

Note: As a percentage of all households. Source: Statistics Canada, Environment Accounts and Statistics Division, Households and the Environment Survey (survey number 3881), 1994 and 2011.

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July 2013 — Statistics Canada


Table 2 Composting, by province and selected census metropolitan areas, 2011 Composted kitchen and/or yard waste1

Composted kitchen waste1

Composted yard waste2

percent Canada Newfoundland and Labrador Prince Edward Island Nova Scotia New Brunswick Quebec Ontario Manitoba Saskatchewan Alberta British Columbia

61 43 96 94 58 42 75 56 47 56 64

45 27 95 92 43 25 62 27 28 30 41

68 41 69 76 53 51 82 67 53 59 77

All census metropolitan area (CMA) households St. John's Halifax Moncton Saint John Saguenay Québec Sherbrooke Trois-Rivières Montréal Ottawa–Gatineau Ottawa–Gatineau (Quebec part) Ottawa–Gatineau (Ontario part) Kingston Oshawa Toronto Hamilton St. Catharines–Niagara Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo Brantford Guelph London Windsor Barrie Greater Sudbury Thunder Bay Winnipeg Regina Saskatoon Calgary Edmonton3 Kelowna Abbotsford–Mission Vancouver Victoria Non-CMA

61 53 93 57 83 30 42 64 33 40 76 79 76 83 80 76 72 82 70 65 87 68 77 74 69 68 53 45 F 52 49 73 51E 56 78 63

45 32 92 47 77 23E 23E 55 F 18 65 72 63 70 72 71 68 69 54 32 79 33 31E 59 59 35 24 31E F 27 34 36E 31E 34 58 43

72 52 86 67 75 26E 56 81 37E 53 85 85 85 83 86 89 78 77 85 82 93 83 81 76 76 72 68 41 37E 56 55 85 64 77 86 60

1. As a percentage of all households. 2. As a percentage of households that had a lawn or garden. 3. Households in Edmonton are not required to separate organics from residential waste for collection. At the Edmonton Waste Management Centre, following collection, organics are separated from residential waste, to be converted into compost. Source: Statistics Canada, Environment Accounts and Statistics Division, Households and the Environment Survey (survey number 3881), 2011.


Seventy-six percent of households in the largest CMA, Toronto, composted in 2011. Forty percent of households in Montréal and 56% of households in Vancouver, the second and third largest CMAs, reported composting.

Changes in composting rates over time The proportion of Canadian households composting has increased over the years (Chart 1). In 2011, 61% of Canadian households reported composting kitchen and/or yard waste; this is up 38 percentage points from 1994. Provincially, the largest increases between 1994 and 2011 were in Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Nova Scotia respectively. The smallest increase was observed in British Columbia, up to 64% from 38%.

Composting methods for yard and kitchen waste In 2011, 63% of Canadian households that had composted their yard waste used a curbside collection system. However, almost one-third of households (32%) had made use of a compost bin or pile for their yard waste. Another 12% reported using a depot or other means to compost their yard waste. More than half (60%) of households composting kitchen waste did so using a curbside collection program, while 41% of households did so by using a compost bin or pile. A small percentage had disposed of their kitchen waste by taking it to a depot or using an alternative composting practice (5%).3

EnviroStats / 3


Composting by curbside collection by selected census metropolitan areas In almost all of the selected CMAs, households were most likely to have used curbside collection for their kitchen and/or yard waste. This likely reflects the availability of collection services in these metropolitan areas. Between 2007 and 2011, there was a significant shift in household composting activities (Table 3). The largest change can be seen in the Quebec region of the Ottawa– Gatineau CMA, with the proportion of households using curbside collection rising to 61% in 2011 from 16% in 2007. This increase is due to the introduction of a weekly curbside kitchen waste composting program in 2010 to supplement the municipality’s existing yard waste composting program.4 The introduction of similar municipal kitchen waste composting programs also contributed to increases in the use of curbside collection in Kingston (up 33 percentage points from 2007), Sherbrooke and the overall Ottawa–Gatineau region (both up 27 percentage points from 2007) and Greater Sudbury (up 23 percentage points from 2007).

Table 3 Composting by curbside collection, by selected census metropolitan areas, 2007, 2009 and 2011 2007

2009

2011

Change 2007 to 2011

percent Canada St. John's Halifax Moncton Saint John Saguenay Québec Sherbrooke Trois-Rivières Montréal Ottawa–Gatineau Ottawa–Gatineau (Quebec part) Ottawa–Gatineau (Ontario part) Kingston Oshawa Toronto Hamilton St. Catharines–Niagara Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo Brantford Guelph London Windsor Barrie Greater Sudbury Thunder Bay Winnipeg Regina Saskatoon Calgary Edmonton Kelowna Abbotsford–Mission Vancouver Victoria

33 F 83 57 55 F 25 30 F 17 40 16E 48 26E 74 65 58 60 45 41 68 40 53 65 30 26 17E F F 11 30 F F 35 14E

40 F 85 70 70 F 27 57 F 25 53 33 61 59 73 73 80 72 63 49 66 47 50 74 66 42 F F F 13 38 58 41 38 24

41 17E 90 44 63 F 30 57 23E 30 67 61 69 59 75 71 67 68 58 47 73 42 58 62 53 32 16E F F 20 35 58E 35E 39 27

8 … 7 -13 8 … 5 27 … 13 27 45E 21 33E 1 6 9 8 13 6 5 2 5 -3 23 6 -1E … … 9 5 … … 4 13E

Note: As a percentage of all households. Source: Statistics Canada, Environment Accounts and Statistics Division, Households and the Environment Survey (survey number 3881), 2007, 2009 and 2011.

Why not compost? In general, some of the reasons that Canadians cited for not composting included not having a compost bin, or access to a municipal composting program. Other reasons offered by households included the possibility that wildlife or vermin might be attracted to the compost bin, that composting was time consuming, that composting took up too much space or residents were unsure of what could be composted.

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Also, some reasons provided were that composting was not convenient or that materials were not collected often enough. However, 10% of Canadian households reported having access to a municipal composting or organics collection program for kitchen and/or yard waste but did not use it.

Factors that may have influenced composting behaviours Dwelling type The type of dwelling a household occupied was directly related to the rate of composting. Over 50% of households in detached or single dwellings reported composting their kitchen waste, compared to 22% of households living in apartments



Table 4 Composting by selected household characteristics, 2011 Composted Composted kitchen and/ kitchen waste1 or yard waste1

Composted kitchen waste

Composted yard waste3

Curbside Depot or collection2 compost pile2

Composted yard waste

Curbside Depot or collection4 compost pile4

percent Canada

61

45

60

44

68

63

41

Dwelling Type Single detached Double Row or terrace Duplex Low-rise apartment High-rise apartment

76 77 54 56 22 22

53 54 41 37 22 22

56 76 80 64 73 70

50 29E 26E 40 25E 18E

71 74 50 53 F F

61 85 87 76 F F

44 22E 17E 27 F F

Tenure Owned Not owned

72 34

51 28

59 65

47 31

71 47

63 63

42 40

48 56

36 38

60 62

40 41

55 63

58 65

45 39

58 67

40 50

55 62

46 44

64 74

59 65

46 40

46 49 56 64 68 74 76

37 36 41 46 47 50 56

64 53 59 56 58 61 66

37 49 43 49 49 46 39

54 59 67 69 70 75 77

64 56 58 63 62 64 64

40 45 47 43 45 41 42

Education 0 to 8 years or some secondary Grade 11 to 13, graduate Some post-secondary, or post-secondary certificate or diploma University Income Less than $20,000 $20,000 to less than $40,000 $40,000 to less than $60,000 $60,000 to less than $80,000 $80,000 to less than $100,000 $100,000 to less than $150,000 $150,000 and more

1. As a percentage of all households. 2. As a percentage of households that composted kitchen waste. 3. As a percentage of households that had a lawn or garden. 4. As a percentage of households that had a lawn or garden and that composted yard waste. Source: Statistics Canada, Environment Accounts and Statistics Division, Households and the Environment Survey (survey number 3881), 2011.

Chart 2 Income and composting rates, 2011 76

$150,000 and more $100,000 to less than $150,000

74

$80,000 to less than $100,000

56

$20,000 to less than $40,000

49

Less than $20,000

46 10

20

30

40 percent

50

60

Note: As a percentage of all households. Source: Statistics Canada, Environment Accounts and Statistics Division, Households and the Environment Survey (survey number 3881), 2011.


When examining household incomes and composting behaviours, it was found that the greater the income, the greater likelihood that the household composted (Chart 2). This applied to composting both yard and kitchen waste.

64

$40,000 to less than $60,000

0

Income

68

$60,000 to less than $80,000

70

(Table 4). This reflects the fact that many apartment dwellers can find it difficult to compost.

80

Composting rates were found to be the highest where Canadians’ household incomes were greater EnviroStats / 5

Composting by households in Canada than $150,000, and at their lowest where household incomes were less than $20,000. Seventy-six percent of households with incomes greater than $150,000 composted either kitchen and/or yard waste. Fifty-six percent of these households composted kitchen waste, while 77% composted yard waste. For both kitchen and yard waste composting, these higherincome households mostly used a curbside collection system provided by the municipality while the remainder used a depot or compost pile (Table 4). Education A similar pattern was found with education and composting. Households where the highest level of education achieved was at the university level were those with the highest overall composting rates, while households having achieved primary education yielded the lowest composting rates.

6 / EnviroStats

Notes 1. Statistics Canada, 2010, Waste Management Industry Survey: Business and Government Sectors, Catalogue no. 16F0023X. 2. P. Van der Werf and M. Cant, 2007, “Composting trends in Canada show varied progress,” BioCycle, Vol. 48, no. 4, page 29. 3. Households could report more than one response to the method of composting yard or kitchen waste; therefore totals are greater than 100%. 4. Ville de Gatineau, 2013, The collection of compostable materials in Gatineau is about to start, www.gatineau.ca/upload/ newsreleases/c-10-125.tpee. pdf (accessed April 2, 2013).
